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United States · Official source
9,581 records where Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2007
Midwifery Care Access and Reimbursement Equity Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for the coverage of and payment for certified midwife services. (Currently only certified nurse-midwife services are covered.)
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2007
Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) make fraud in connection with the unauthorized access of sensitive personally identifiable information (in electronic or digital form) a predicate for racketeering charges; and (2) prohibit concealment of security breaches involving such information. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and amend its guidelines relating to fraudulent access to, or misuse of, digitized or electronic personally identifiable information (including identify theft). Requires a data broker to: (1) disclose to an individual, upon request, personal electronic records pertaining to such individual maintained for disclosure to third parties; and (2) maintain procedures for correcting the accuracy of such records. Establishes standards for developing and implementing safeguards to protect the security of sensitive personally identifiable information. Imposes upon business entities civil penalties for violations of such standards. Requires such business entities to notify: (1) any individual whose information has been accessed or acquired; and (2) the U.S. Secret Service if the number of individuals involved exceeds 10,000. Authorizes the Attorney General and state attorneys general to bring civil actions against business entities for violations of this Act. Requires the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA), in considering contract awards totaling more than $500,000, to evaluate: (1) the data privacy and security program of a data broker; (2) program compliance; (3) the extent to which databases and systems have been compromised by security breaches; and (4) data broker responses to such breaches. Requires federal agencies to conduct a privacy impact assessment before purchasing personally identifiable information from a data broker.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2007
Commission to Study the Potential Creation of the National Museum of the American Latino Act of 2007 - Establishes the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of the American Latino to study and make recommendations to the President and the Congress on a plan of action for the establishment and maintenance of a National Museum of the American Latino in Washington, DC.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2007
Amends the Uruguay Round Agreements Act with respect to the rules of origin for certain textile and apparel products. Makes such amendments applicable to goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after the date that is 15 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2007
Student Loan Sunshine Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require each lender entering into an educational loan arrangement with a postsecondary school to: (1) report annually to the Secretary of Education specified information concerning such arrangement; (2) inform borrowers of their loan options under title IV (Student Assistance) before extending private educational loans for attendance at such school; and (3) be barred by such school from marketing such loans in a manner implying the school's endorsement. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on the adequacy of educational loan information provided to borrowers, including a model format for lender use in providing annual loan information to the Secretary and covered schools. Requires any school that provides prospective borrowers with private educational loan information to: (1) include information on their title IV assistance eligibility; and (2) compare and distinguish private loans from title IV loans. Bars lenders or guarantors of educational loans from offering gifts to school employees or agents. Directs the Comptroller General to study the effect loan arrangements and lender inducements to schools have on loan terms. Imposes conditions on school maintenance of preferred lender lists, requiring that lenders be listed on the basis of the benefits they provide borrowers. Amends the Truth in Lending Act to require lenders of private educational loans to provide specified information to prospective borrowers and, if the loan equals or exceeds $1,000, notify the relevant school of the proposed loan. Requires such schools to notify the prospective borrower whether and to what extent such loan exceeds the student's attendance costs, after considering other assistance the student has or is eligible to receive.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2007
Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) suicide among veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious problem; and (2) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should take into consideration the special needs of veterans suffering from PTSD in developing and implementing the program required under this Act. Directs the Secretary to develop and implement a comprehensive program for reducing the incidence of suicide among veterans. Requires the program to include: (1) a national mental health campaign to increase mental health awareness in the veteran community; (2) mandatory training on suicide and suicide prevention for appropriate Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees and contractor personnel; (3) family education and peer support counseling; (4) veterans' health assessments, counseling, and treatment programs; (5) suicide prevention counselors; (6) research on suicide prevention; (7) treatment programs for veterans suffering from substance abuse; (8) 24-hour veterans' mental health care availability; and (9) a toll-free hotline.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Gang Abatement and Prevention Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to define "criminal street gang" and "gang crime" and to prohibit: (1) the commission of a gang crime or crime of violence to further the activities of a criminal street gang ; and (2) the recruitment of another person to join a criminal street gang. Increases criminal penalties for: (1) certain violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity; (2) possession of firearms by repeat offenders; and (3) crimes of violence and drug trafficking crimes committed by illegal aliens. Provides for criminal forfeiture of any property used to commit a gang crime Amends the Controlled Substances Act to impose criminal penalties for murder and other violent crimes committed in the course of a drug trafficking crime. Authorizes the Attorney General to: (1) designate certain areas in states as high intensity interstate gang activity areas and to provide assistance to such areas; (2) expand the Project Safe Neighborhoods program to require U.S. attorneys to prosecute criminal street gangs operating in their districts; (3) require the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to increase funding for the Safe Streets Programs and support criminal street gang enforcement teams; (4) conduct media campaigns in high intensity interstate gang activity areas to educate the public about efforts to combat criminal gang activities; and (5) make grants to states to prevent abductions of children by family members. Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to authorize grants for technology and training to increase accurate identification of gang members and violent offenders. Establishes in the U.S. Marshals Service a Short-Term Witness Protection Section to provide protection for witnesses in state and local trials involving homicide or other violent crimes. Expands the federal witness relocation and protection program to include protection against criminal street gangs.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2007 - Amends the Revised Statutes and federal criminal law to prohibit any person, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, from knowingly deceiving any other person regarding: (1) the time, place, or manner of conducting any federal election; or (2) the qualifications for or restrictions on voter eligibility for any such election. Makes intent to prevent another person from exercising the right to vote an essential element of the offense. Creates a private right of action for any person aggrieved by a violation of such prohibition. Prescribes a criminal penalty for such deceptive acts. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and, if appropriate, amend the federal sentencing guidelines and policy statements applicable to persons convicted of any offense under this Act. Authorizes any person to report to the Attorney General false election information. Requires the Attorney General, immediately after receiving such a report, to consider and review it and, if there is a reasonable basis to find that false information has been communicated, to: (1) undertake all effective measures necessary to provide correct information to voters affected by the false information; (2) refer any pertinent matter to the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice for prosecution; and (3) refer the matter to the appropriate federal and state authorities for criminal prosecution or civil action after the election. Directs the Attorney General to study the feasibility of providing such corrective information through public service announcements, the emergency alert system, or other forms of public broadcast. Authorizes the Attorney General to establish a Voting Integrity Task Force.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Nurse Education, Expansion, and Development Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to award a grant to each eligible school of nursing to increase the number of nursing faculty and students. Requires such schools to formulate and implement a plan to accomplish at least two of specified goals, which include: (1) establishing or significantly expanding an accelerated baccalaureate degree nursing program designed to graduate new nurses in 12 to 18 months; (2) establishing cooperative interdisciplinary training between schools of nursing and other specified health related fields; (3) increasing admissions, enrollment, and retention of qualified individuals who are financially disadvantaged; (4) increasing enrollment of minority and diverse student populations; (5) increasing enrollment of new graduate baccalaureate nursing students in graduate programs that educate nurse faculty members; (6) developing post-baccalaureate residency programs to prepare nurses for practice in specialty areas where nursing shortages are more severe; and (7) increasing integration of geriatric content into the core curriculum. Requires the Comptroller General to study ways to increase participation in the nurse faculty profession and to submit a report to Congress that includes: (1) a discussion of the master's degree and doctoral degree programs that are successful in placing graduates as faculty in schools of nursing; and (2) an examination of compensation disparities throughout the nursing profession and between higher education instructional faculty generally and higher education instructional nursing faculty.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Breast Cancer Patient Protect Action of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan or a health issuer offering group health insurance coverage that provides medical and surgical benefits to ensure that inpatient (and in the case of a lumpectomy, outpatient) coverage and radiation therapy are provided for breast cancer treatment. Prohibits such a plan or issuer from: (1) restricting benefits for any hospital length of stay to less than 48 hours in connection with a mastectomy or breast conserving surgery or 24 hours in connection with a lymph node dissection; or (2) requiring that a provider obtain authorization from the plan or issuer for prescribing any such length of stay. Requires such a plan or issuer to: (1) provide notice to each participant and beneficiary regarding the coverage required under this Act; and (2) ensure that full coverage is provided for secondary consultations by specialists in the appropriate medical fields to confirm or refute a diagnosis of cancer. Applies such requirements to health insurance issuers offering coverage in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
John R. Justice Prosecutors and Defenders Incentive Act of 2007- Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to direct the Attorney General to assume the obligation to repay student loans for borrowers who agree to remain employed, for at least three years, as: (1) state or local criminal prosecutors; or (2) state, local, or federal public defenders in criminal cases. Allows a borrower and the Attorney General to enter into an additional loan repayment agreement, after the required three-year period, for a successive period of service which may be less than three years. Limits the amount paid under such program on behalf of any borrower to $10,000 per calendar year and $60,000 total.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2007 - Allows the receipt of both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability (currently, only a disability rated at 50 percent or more). States that, in the case of a qualified retiree receiving veterans' disability compensation for a disability rated as total by reason of unemployability, payment of military retired pay is subject to a phase-in of concurrent receipt of both only during the period beginning on January 1, 2004, and ending on December 31, 2007 (currently September 30, 2009). Makes eligible for the full concurrent receipt of both veterans' disability compensation and either military retired pay or combat-related special pay those individuals who were retired or separated from military service due to a service-connected disability.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal the outpatient therapy cap.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2007
Fair Prescription Drug Competition Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit a holder of a new, approved drug application from commencing to manufacture, market, sell, or distribute a generic version of such drug from the time of the receipt of notice from the generic manufacturer that an abbreviated new drug application has been submitted for approval until the expiration or forfeiture of the exclusivity period granted to the generic manufacturer.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2007
Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators Act of 2007 or the KIDS Act of 2007 - Amends the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act to require a convicted sex offender to: (1) provide for inclusion in the National Sex Offender Registry any electronic mail address, instant message address, or other similar identifier used to communicate over the Internet; and (2) keep such information current. Requires jurisdictions that maintain information about sex offenders to exempt from public disclosure any electronic mail address, instant message address, or other similar Internet identifier used by a sex offender. Requires the Attorney General to maintain a system to allow commercial social networking websites to compare their databases of users to the Internet identifiers of persons in the National Sex Offender Registry. Exempts such websites from civil liability if compliant with the requirements of this Act. Amends the federal criminal code to impose a fine and/or prison term: (1) of up to 10 years for failure by any sex offender to provide information required by this Act; and (2) of up to 20 years for age misrepresentation with the intent to use the Internet to engage in criminal sexual conduct with a minor.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2007
National Guard Empowerment Act of 2007 - Expands the: (1) authority of the Chief of the National Guard Bureau (Bureau) to include membership on the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) (and raises the grade of the Chief from lieutenant general to general); and (2) functions of the Bureau to include facilitating and coordinating, with other federal agencies and the states, the use of Guard personnel and resources for, and in, contingency operations, military operations other than war, natural disasters, and support of civil authorities. Directs the Chief to: (1) identify gaps between federal and state capabilities to prepare for and respond to emergencies; and (2) make recommendations to the Secretary of Defense on Guard programs and activities to address such gaps. Requires annual Department of Defense (DOD) budget justification documents to include separate amounts for Guard training and equipment for military assistance to civil authorities and other domestic operations. Expresses the sense of Congress calling for consideration of eligible reserve officers for promotion to the grades of lieutenant general or vice admiral on the active duty list. Treats service as a Bureau adjutant general as joint duty experience. Requires the position of Deputy Commander of the U.S. Northern Command to be filled by a qualified Guard officer eligible for promotion to the grade of lieutenant general. Requires an annual plan for the use of the Armed Forces and National Guard for responding to disasters and acts of terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2007
Essential Air Service Preservation Act of 2007 - Repeals the mandate for the Essential Air Service local participation program (a pilot program under which up to 10 designated essential air service communities located near hub airports shall assume 10% of their essential air service subsidy costs for a four-year period).
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2007
Kidney Disease Educational Benefits Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage of kidney disease education services.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2007
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to include podiatrists as physicians in order to cover their services under the Medicaid program.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2007
Requires states and Indian tribes (authorized under current law) to designate specific highway routes over which hazardous materials may be transported.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2007
Michelle's Law - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to prohibit a group health plan or health insurance coverage offered in connection with such a plan from terminating the coverage of a dependent child due to a medically necessary leave of absence from a postsecondary educational institution that causes the child to lose full-time status before the date that is the earlier of: (1) one year after the first day of the leave of absence; or (2) the date on which such coverage would otherwise terminate under the terms of the plan. Requires documentation and a certification by a physician.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2007
Court Security Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends the federal judicial code to: (1) direct the U.S. Marshals Service to consult with the Judicial Conference of the United States (Judicial Conference) on a continuing basis regarding the security requirements of the judicial branch; (2) authorize the Marshals Service to provide security for the U.S. Tax Court; (3) allow the U.S. Sentencing Commission to enter into multi-year procurement contracts; (4) extend certain life insurance benefits to bankruptcy, magistrate, and territorial judges; and (5) grant expanded authority to certain retired senior judges. Authorizes additional funding to hire marshals to protect the judiciary. Amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to: (1) restrict disclosure of the personal information of family members of judges; (2) extend through 2009 the authority of the Judicial Conference to redact certain personal information of judges from financial disclosure reports; and (3) reauthorize the Office of Government Ethics through FY2011. Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit: (1) the filing of false liens against the property of judges or law enforcement officials; (2) the public disclosure of restricted personal information about an federal officer, witness, or juror (or family member) with the intent to harm such individual; and (3) the possession of dangerous weapons in a federal court facility. Increases criminal penalties for tampering with or retaliating against a witness, victim, or informant and for voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. Authorizes grant programs to create and expand witness and victim protection programs. Extends eligibility for correctional options grants and armored vest grants to state and local courts.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2007
Art and Collectibles Capital Gains Tax Treatment Parity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) eliminate the 28-percent capital gains tax rate for collectibles, thus allowing gain from the sale of collectibles (including art works) to be taxed at the 15-percent tax rate applicable to other investment property; (2) allow the creator of a literary, musical, artistic, or scholarly property a fair market value tax deduction for the donation of such property to a tax-exempt organization, if properly appraised and donated no sooner than 18 months after its creation.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2007
Designates September 25, 2007, as National First Responder Appreciation Day.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2007
COPS Improvements Act of 2007 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to expand the authority of the Attorney General to make grants for public safety and community policing programs (COPS ON THE BEAT grant program). Authorizes grants to: (1) hire school resource officers and establish local partnerships to combat crime, gangs, drug activities, and other problems in elementary and secondary schools; (2) establish and implement programs to reduce and prevent illegal drug activities, including the manufacturing, distribution, and use of methamphetamine; and (3) meet emerging law enforcement needs, as warranted. Authorizes the use of COPS ON THE BEAT grants to hire former members of the Armed Forces to serve as career law enforcement officers. Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants for: (1) assigning prosecutors to handle cases from specific geographic areas and to address counter-terrorism problems and violent crime in local communities; and (2) developing new technologies to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in crime prevention and training. Grants the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services exclusive authority to perform functions and activities under COPS ON THE BEAT grant program. Authorizes the Attorney General to extend grant periods and to renew grants if the grant recipient can demonstrate significant progress in achieving the objectives of the initial grant application.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2007
Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to revise the prohibition on importing convict-made goods into the United States to make it unlawful to: (1) import into, or export from, the United States any sweatshop good; or (2) introduce into commerce, sell, trade, or advertise in commerce, offer to sell, or transport or distribute in U.S. commerce, any sweatshop good. Grants the President, for reasons of national interest, authority to recommend waiver of the applications set forth in this Act in connection with the goods of any country with respect to one or more of the principles and rights defined in this Act as a core labor standard. Sets forth procedures for consideration of such a waiver. Makes it unlawful for persons to introduce into commerce, sell, trade, or advertise in commerce, offer to sell or transport or distribute in commerce any sweatshop good. Requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce this prohibition as if it were an unfair or deceptive act or practice proscribed under the Federal Trade Commission Act. Allows specified persons with standing to bring a civil action in U.S. district courts against sellers of goods, wares, articles, or merchandise on grounds of a violation of such prohibition. Prohibits executive agencies and the Armed Forces from entering into procurement contracts for sweatshop goods. Prohibits anything in this Act from being construed to preempt a state from regulating labor standards required in the mining, production, or manufacture of merchandise purchased by the state.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2007
Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Act - Authorizes the President to award a medal to be known as the "Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Congressional Medal," to the personal representative or next of kin of individuals killed as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in recognition of their sacrifice and to honor their deaths. Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike three medals, to be representative of and in honor of, respectively: (1) victims of the attack at the World Trade Center, including civilians, public safety officers, emergency workers, and hijack victims; (2) victims aboard United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania; and (3) victims at the Pentagon, including the hijack victims. Declares eligible for such medal any individual who died on or after September 11, 2001, as a direct result of that act of terrorism within the United States. States the medals are national medals.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2007
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act to expand the prohibition against discrimination by group health plans and health insurance issuers in the group and individual markets on the basis of genetic information or services to prohibit: (1) enrollment and premium discrimination based on information about a request for or receipt of genetic services; and (2) requiring genetic testing. Sets forth penalties for violations. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit issuers of Medicare supplemental policies from discriminating on the basis of genetic information. Extends medical privacy and confidentiality rules to the disclosure of genetic information. Makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or training program to discriminate against an individual or deprive such individual of employment opportunities because of genetic information. Prohibits the collection and disclosure of genetic information, with certain exceptions. Establishes a Genetic Nondiscrimination Study Commission to review the developing science of genetics and advise Congress on the advisability of providing for a disparate impact cause of action under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2007
Requires the Supreme Court to permit television coverage of all open sessions of the Court unless it decides by majority vote that allowing such coverage in a particular case would violate the due process rights of any of the parties involved.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2007
Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2007 - Authorizes the presiding judge of a U.S. appellate court or U.S. district court to permit the photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising to the public of court proceedings over which that judge presides except when such action would constitute a violation of the due process rights of any party. Directs: (1) a district court, upon the request of any witness in a trial proceeding other than a party, to order the face and voice of the witness to be disguised or otherwise obscured to render the witness unrecognizable to the broadcast audience of the trial proceeding; and (2) the presiding judge in a trial proceeding to inform each witness who is not a party of the right to make such request. Authorizes the Judicial Conference of the United States to promulgate advisory guidelines to which a presiding judge may refer in making decisions regarding the management and administration of photographing, recording, broadcasting, or televising described in this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2007
Student Debt Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend the Pell Grant program through FY2012 and increase yearly maximum Pell grant amounts. Authorizes and appropriates specified additional annual funding for such grants. Requires the Secretary of Education to provide institutions of higher education Student Aid Reward Payments for participating in the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) or Direct Loan (DL) program most cost-effective for taxpayers. Phases-in cuts to the interest rates charged undergraduate student borrowers under the FFEL and DL programs, thereby reducing such rate from 6.8% in July 2006 to 3.4% in July 2011. Directs the Secretary to forgive the balance due on DLs and direct consolidation loans by individuals who have been public sector employees for 10 years and have made 120 income contingent payments on such loans. Caps FFEL and DL repayments by student borrowers at no more than 15% of the amount a borrower's adjusted gross income exceeds 150% of the poverty line. Requires the Secretary to cancel or repay such loans after 25 years. Eliminates the three-year limit on the deferral of FFELs, DLs, and Perkins loans when borrowers are suffering economic hardship, redefined to include borrowers whose full-time earnings do not exceed 150% of the poverty line. Includes such deferral periods, as well as the months a borrower's FFEL or DL payments are capped, in calculating the maximum period an income contingent repayment plan may be in effect for a non-defaulting borrower. Allows students to consolidate loans under the FFEL program while still in school. Reduces DL origination fees. Sets limits on funds available for administrative expenses under the FFEL and DL programs for FY2007-FY2012. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the deduction for higher education expenses and make it permanent. Establishes a tax credit for student loan interest payments.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2007
Dependence Reduction through Innovation in Vehicles and Energy Act or DRIVE Act - Instructs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to publish in the Federal Register an oil savings target and action plan for specified calendar years. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to develop: (1) a fuel efficiency consumer education program for motor vehicle tires; (2) a fuel efficiency program for passenger automobile and light truck tires; and (3) a program to designate Transit-Oriented Development Corridors. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) develop a testing and assessment program to determine heavy duty vehicle fuel economy; (2) establish a task force to develop minimum certification standards for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles; and (3) establish a near-term electric transportation deployment program. Instructs the Secretary of Transportation to prescribe average heavy duty vehicle fuel economy standards. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a tax credit for 50% of the cost and installation (up to $3,500) of a qualifying idling reduction device (includes off-truck infrastructure equipment) on a heavy-duty diesel-powered on-highway vehicle; (2) allow a credit for 35% of the advanced motor vehicle technology expenses of certain motor vehicle manufacturers or component parts manufacturers; (3) terminate the limitation on the number of new qualified hybrid and advanced lean burn vehicles eligible for the alternative motor vehicle credit; (4) extend the alternative motor vehicle credit; (5) establish a fuel-efficient tax credit for private fleets; (6) subject heavy vehicles to the depreciation limitation for certain luxury automobiles; (7) increase the alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit; (8) extend biodiesel income and excise tax credits; (9) increase the small ethanol producer tax credit for sucrose and cellulosic ethanol producers; and (10) provide plug-in electric vehicle incentives. Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) establish a lightweight material research and development program; (2) carry out a research and commercial application program for electric drive transportation technology and engine dominant hybrid vehicle technology; (3) provide hybrid technology loan guarantees; and (4) require that by FY2016 each federal agency achieve at least a 30% reduction in its fleet petroleum consumption, and have at least 30% of its alternative fuel vehicles be hybrid or lean burn vehicles; (5) establish an alternative fuels pilot grant program; and (6) conduct a national media campaign to decrease U.S. oil consumption over the next decade. Sets forth a federal agency motor vehicle efficiency and fuel requirements. Requires certain minimum percentages of light-duty motor vehicles manufactured for model years 2012 and beyond to use specified propulsion technologies and fuels. Amends the Clean Air Act to prescribe minimum annual quantities of renewable fuel from cellulosic biomass and sugar. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a low-interest loan and grant program for farmer-owned ethanol producers to develop infrastructure, including pump stations, for the retail delivery of any fuel containing at least 85% ethanol.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2007
Pulmonary and Cardiac Rehabilitation Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of items and services under a cardiac rehabilitation program and a pulmonary rehabilitation program.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2007
Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act of 2007 or the AgJOBS Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to confer "blue card status" upon an alien who: (1) has performed agricultural employment in the United States for at least 863 hours or 150 work days during the 24-month period ending on December 31, 2006; (2) applied for such status during the 18-month application period beginning on the first day of the seventh month that begins after the date of enactment of this Act; (3) is otherwise admissible to the United States; and (4) has not been convicted of any felony or a misdemeanor, an element of which involves bodily injury, threat of serious bodily injury, or harm to property in excess of $500. Directs the Secretary to adjust a blue card alien (and spouse and minor children) to permanent resident status if the alien has fulfilled specified periods of agricultural employment. Amends the Social Security Act to exempt blue card aliens from prosecution for social security-related identity or payment false statements if such conduct occurred prior to the granting of blue card status. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise H-2A visa (agricultural labor or temporary or seasonal services) provisions. Replaces the existing labor certification requirement with a labor attestation requirement containing: (1) a description of the nature and location of the job; (2) the job's expected beginning and ending dates; (3) the number of jobs; and (4) specified labor assurances respecting job opportunities covered by collective bargaining agreements and non-covered job opportunities.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2007
Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act - Amends the Clayton Act to make it unlawful for a person, in connection with the sale of a drug product, to be a party to any agreement resolving or settling a patent infringement claim in which: (1) an abbreviated new drug (generic) application filer receives anything of value; and (2) such filer agrees not to research, develop, manufacture, market, or sell the generic product for any period. Excludes a resolution or settlement that includes no more than the right to market the generic product prior to the expiration of the patent. Amends the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 to set forth additional filing requirements related to agreements between a brand name drug company and a generic drug applicant. Requires the Chief Executive Officer or the company official responsible for negotiating any agreement to file a certification that materials filed with respect to such agreements are complete, final, and exclusive. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide that forfeiture of the 180-day exclusivity period for the marketing of a generic drug occurs if there is a final decision of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or the court that an agreement has violated this Act. Requires the FTC to study the prevalence of anticompetitive agreements in the pharmaceutical industry and their impact. Requires the Attorney General or FTC to consider whether any additional enforcement action is necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2007
Amends the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to detain for examination, testing, or the taking of evidence: (1) any horse at any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction that is sore or which the Secretary has probable cause to believe is sore; and (2) any horse or other equine that the Secretary has probable cause to believe is being shipped, transported, moved, delivered, received, possessed, purchased, sold, or donated in violation of such prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2007
Mohawk River Hydroelectric Projects Licensing Act of 2007 - Prohibits the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) from issuing a new license for a hydroelectric project on the Mohawk River in New York if the project has been operating under annual licenses for 10 or more years, unless FERC: (1) issues a public notice that it will accept other valid license applications to develop or dispose of the project works or water resource (including certain nonpower license applications); and (2) approves a license application, according to the requirements of this Act, if other valid license applications are submitted, or if FERC has issued a new license that is not yet final. Sets forth processing and approval procedures. Requires any new power license issued for such project to include the same license conditions relating to the use of affected waters as provided in the license for a specified Potomac Light & Power Company Project. Declares this Act applicable to specified hydroelectric projects for which: (1) a new license has been issued at the time of this Act but which has not yet become final under law; (2) there are pending judicial appeals; (3) the time has not yet lapsed for filing such appeals; or (4) there is a pending appeal of the Clean Water Act section 401 Water Quality Certificate.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2007
Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2007 - Authorizes appropriations for Amtrak for FY2007-FY2012. Authorizes Amtrak to contract for the operation of an intercity rail service or route not included in the national rail passenger transportation system. Requires Amtrak to: (1) implement a modern financial accounting and reporting system; (2) submit an annual budget and business plan and a five-year financial plan; (3) submit grant requests for specified authorizations of appropriations, including for its operating and capital grants and debt repayment; (4) develop and implement a standardized methodology for establishing and allocating the operating and capital costs among the states and Amtrak associated with trains operated on state supported routes. Requires an independent auditor to develop and recommend objective methodologies for determining intercity passenger routes and services. Provides for: (1) minimum standards for measuring performance and service; (2) investigations of substandard performance; (3) annual evaluations of the financial and operating performance of each long distance passenger rail route; (4) passenger rail service to be provided by alternate carriers on certain Amtrak routes; (5) a northeast corridor state-of-good-repair plan; and (6) restructuring Amtrak's indebtedness. Authorizes: (1) grants to states for the capital costs of facilities and equipment necessary to provide or improve intercity passenger rail transportation; (2) a state to prepare and maintain a state rail plan. Requires Amtrak to establish a Next Generation Corridor Equipment Pool Committee, comprised of representatives of Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration, and interested states. Provides, in order to carry out all railroad safety laws, for eight safety offices for eight geographical regions. Surface Transportation and Rail Security Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a task force to complete a vulnerability and risk assessment of freight and passenger rail transportation. Provides for: (1) systemwide Amtrak security upgrade grants; (2) grants for fire and life-safety improvements to Amtrak tunnels on the Northeast Corridor; and (3) grants for freight and passenger rail security upgrades. Provides funding for oversight of capital projects and management plans. Requires a plan for addressing the needs of the families of passengers involved in any Amtrak intercity train rail passenger accident resulting in a loss of life. Requires a railworker security training program. Provides for whistleblower protection for rail security matters. Requires rail carriers transporting hazardous materials to develop high hazard material security threat mitigation plans. Encourages the equipping of rail cars transporting high hazard materials with wireless communications technology.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2007
Servitude and Emancipation Archival Research ClearingHouse Act or the SEARCH Act - Directs the Archivist of the United States to establish, as part of the National Archives, a national database consisting of historic records of servitude and emancipation in the United States to assist African Americans in researching their genealogy. Requires the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to maintain the database.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2007
Observes and celebrates the national holiday honoring Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. Honors his example of nonviolence, courage, compassion, dignity, and public service. Pledges to advance the legacy of the Dr. King and encourages the U.S. people to celebrate the holiday and his life and legacy.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2007
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal to Constantino Brumidi, in recognition of his contributions to the Nation as a designer and decorator of the U.S. Capitol. Requires the Architect of the Capitol to arrange for the gold medal to be displayed in the Capitol Visitor Center as part of an exhibit honoring Constantino Brumidi.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2007
Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act of 2007 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) to revise provisions governing the importation of prescription drugs. Waives the limitation on importation of prescription drugs that have been exported from the United States. Prohibits the importation of a qualifying drug unless such drug is imported by: (1) a registered importer; or (2) an individual for personal use. Establishes registration conditions for importers and exporters. Requires the Secretary to inspect places of business, verify chains of custody, inspect facilities, and determine compliance with registration conditions. Sets forth provisions governing the importation of qualifying drugs that are different from U.S. label drugs, including standards for judging such differences. Prohibits manufacturers from: (1) discriminating against registered exporters or importers; (2) causing there to be a difference in a prescription drug distributed in the United States and one distributed in a permitted country; (3) engaging in actions to restrict, prohibit, or delay the importation of a qualifying drug; or (4) engaging in any action that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) determines discriminates against a person that engages or attempts to engage in the importation of a qualifying drug. States that the resale in the United States of prescription drugs that were properly sold abroad is not patent infringement. Requires the Secretary to educate consumers regarding prescription drug importation. Sets forth provisions governing the sale of prescription drugs through an Internet site. Includes the dispensing or selling of a prescription drug in violation of this Act as a prohibited act under FFDCA. Prohibits the introduction of restricted transactions with unregistered foreign pharmacies into a payment system or the completion of such transactions using a payment system.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2007
Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007 - Amends the federal judicial code to authorize the U.S. district court for a district in which the office of the U.S. attorney is vacant to appoint a U.S. attorney to serve until that vacancy is filled. Repeals the authority of the Attorney General to make such a vacancy appointment.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2007
Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require Senate candidates to file election-related designations, statements, and reports in electronic form. Requires the Secretary of the Senate to forward a copy of any electronically filed designation, statement, or report to the Federal Election Commission within one working day (instead of the current two working days) after receiving it.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2007
Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize appropriations for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program through FY2012.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2007
Calling for 2-1-1 Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award a grant to each state to carry out a program for making available throughout that state the 2-1-1 telephone service for information and referral on human services. Requires a participating state to ensure that at least 50% of the resources of the program funded by the grant will be derived from other sources. Requires a state seeking a grant to carry out its activities through a lead entity to be known as a 2-1-1 Collaborative. Requires grant amounts to be used solely to make available to a state 2-1-1 telephone service for community information and referral on human services to all citizens of that state with phone access, including telephone connections between families and individuals seeking services and the service providers. Requires grant recipients to: (1) abide by the Key Standards for 2-1-1 Centers; and (2) collaborate with human service organizations to provide an exhaustive database of services with which to provide information or referral to individuals utilizing the 2-1-1 service.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2007
9/11 Heroes Health Improvement Act of 2007 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to award grants to eligible entities to provide medical and mental health monitoring, tracking, and treatment to individuals whose health has been directly impacted as a result of the attacks on New York City and at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Includes as eligible individuals firefighters, police officers, paramedics, workers, volunteers, residents, students, and any other individual who worked at Ground Zero, Fresh Kills (recovery site on Staten Island), or the Pentagon or lived or worked in the vicinity of such areas, whose health has deteriorated as a result of the attacks, and who has been evaluated by a physician or mental health professional for 9/11-related health conditions and needs treatment for such conditions. Sets the order of priority for individuals covered under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2007
Recognizes that Wesley Autry of New York, New York, acted heroically by putting his own life at risk to save that of a fellow citizen. Expresses the Senate's deep appreciation for his example and the values that his actions represent.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Surface Transportation and Rail Security Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a task force to complete a vulnerability and risk assessment of freight and passenger rail transportation, and develop specific prioritized recommendations for improving rail security. Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security (or Secretary of Transportation, where appropriate) to make grants for certain system-wide Amtrak, freight, hazardous materials transportation, and passenger rail security upgrades, including to Amtrak for fire and life-safety improvements and infrastructure upgrades to tunnels on the Northeast Corridor. Directs Amtrak to submit to the National Transportation Safety Board a plan to address the needs of families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents. Requires railroad carriers to develop rail security training programs for all front-line workers. Sets forth certain whistleblower protections for rail employees or other persons providing information about perceived security threats. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (or Secretary of Transportation, where appropriate) to require: (1) rail carriers transporting hazardous materials to develop high hazard material security threat mitigation plans; and (2) motor carriers transporting hazardous materials to maintain route plans that meet certain requirements. Sets forth requirements regarding : (1) equipping rail cars and motor carriers transporting high hazard materials with wireless communications and tracking technology; (2) hazardous materials security plans of shippers, carriers, and other persons; (3) truck security assessment; (4) a national security public sector response system; (5) over-the-road bus operators or over-the-road bus terminal operators system-wide security improvements; (6) a Pipeline Security and Incident Recovery Protocols Plan; and (7) pipeline security plans and inspecting of natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines and pipeline facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a surviving spouse to exclude from gross income up to $500,000 of the gain from the sale or exchange of a principal residence owned jointly with a deceased spouse if the sale or exchange occurs within two years of the death of the spouse and other ownership and use requirements have been met.